Israeli military forces have established a presence at an abandoned Syrian army facility located in the village of Maariyah, causing local farmers to be barred from accessing their fields, according to residents’ reports on Thursday.
Journalists who visited the area observed Israeli troops positioned at a distance and noted an interaction in which a local individual approached them while displaying a white flag.
Situated at the western edge of Syria’s southern Daraa province, the village is near the Golan Heights, an area under Israeli occupation, yet lies outside the designated buffer zone created by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel.
Local resident Abdel Raouf Issa indicated that the Israeli military had moved approximately 1 kilometer (almost two-thirds of a mile) into the village and was demanding the surrender of all weapons. Issa contended, “We informed them that we possess no weapons whatsoever.”
According to him, “They are stopping us from farming and restricting our movement,” adding, “We urge the United Nations to expedite the removal of the occupation.”
Kamal Saleh Damara, another local official, expressed relief that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a key insurgent group, had gained influence in the area. However, he lamented, “Now that Israel is here, it hampers the movement of our people.”
In an official statement, the Israeli military asserted that their operations are conducted within the buffer zone and other nearby areas to maintain the security of Israel’s northern border. However, it refrained from commenting on the specific locations of its troop deployments.
Following the ousting of Syrian President Bashar Assad by opposition forces on December 8, Israel quickly took control of a section of southern Syria adjacent to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
The Israeli occupation of the buffer zone, encompassing roughly 400 square kilometers (about 155 square miles), has garnered significant backlash, with critics accusing Israel of breaching the 1974 ceasefire agreement and capitalizing on the disarray following Assad’s removal to extend its territory.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and subsequently annexed the area, a move that has not received widespread international recognition.
On Wednesday, residents and local leaders from the Quneitra province buffer zone issued a statement decrying the expulsion of residents from certain villages despite their attempts to show restraint and non-resistance toward the advancing Israeli forces. Nonetheless, they mentioned that some individuals were permitted to return subsequently.
The statement requested the withdrawal of Israeli troops, especially from crucial infrastructure such as the Quneitra provincial government building, primary roads, and the water resources serving the local population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked on Tuesday that Israeli forces will remain in the area until a secure arrangement can be established for Israel’s protection.
Netanyahu made these remarks from Mount Hermon, the highest local peak, which sits approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from the Golan Heights border.
